What I Pray (part 4)

Continuing this series of posts, I would like to pick up where I ended my last post (part 3).  There I mentioned my desire for help in preparing and instructing others in the Word that they may have access to it and that they might advance in it.  I want to be a careful and faithful communicator of His Word.

With all that in mind I pray for the following as I prepare my sermons:

• That I would communicate the truth of God's Word clearly.
• That God would develop my skill and ability to communicate and connect with people--to relay the truth of God's Word in a clear, compelling, and creative way.
• That I would preach with passion, authority, and unction (empowered by the Holy Spirit).
• That I would cast a vision of what could be and should be in the lives of my listeners.
• That I would have the health to preach with energy, enthusiasm, and a contagious attitude.
• That God would be with me through the sermon development process.  That I would be a careful exegete of the text; offer useful illustrations to draw out the meaning of the text; provide helpful application to supply what listeners should do with the text.  

In addition to these, I often use a guide provided by Michael McKinley that I have found helpful.

I always pray the last one he mentions:  

"Lord, please use this sermon to bring glory to your name, joy to your people, and salvation to the lost."

In the next post I will share what I pray for my family.